Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-11-18

each man doing his duty absolutely, regard
less of what might happen. But all this they
felt rather than reasoned, for men of action
reflect slowly, and sne pace was so severe
that they had no time for reflection
Matt leaned over and slipped the key of
the switch to Jim Reeves, who was in front.
"If we haven't time to unlock her, JIM
he said so quietly that it hurt the men to hear
him, lump on the lever and break the
chain. Now, fellows, hesve away for all
you're worth"
The first six miles passed quickly; to right
and left the road and the trees few back
wards, and nothing was heard but the short,
quick painting of the men, the burr of the
cogs, and the clickety click, clickety-click of
the wheels over the fish plates. On the half
mile up grade to Bass Falls they had to
slacken up little and hang on the handles,
while the sweat ran off their smooth backs
down over their muscular arms to the cross
bar and dripped off on to the platform; but |
with their heads down and every muscle |
braced, they worked on steadily, painting |
hoarsely through theirs closed teeth. They |
had but one idea in common, and that was, |
as Jim Reeves tersely expressed it, that they |
must reach that qualified switch or bust. At |
regular intervals Murphy, who seemed to
have renowned his customary profanity, re-
peated his short, earnest exhortation, more as
a prayer than as a command: STEADY,
boys, steady for Gods sakel"
The top of the grade was reached; then
came level run of two miles before the
curve to the bridge. Ahead of them on each
side of the track the workmen, experimenting
some disaster from the enormous volume of
smoke that was blowing toward them in pur-
plish clouds trimmed with golden sunlight,
had assembled before the Falls station; and
as Murphy's gang came along, up and down,
up and down, every man in that crowd felt
his eyes grow moist and his throat dry. With
one accord English and Yankee, French, Ca
nadians and Italians, Swedes and Finlanders,
gave one solitary ringing cheer, and stood 81
lent again. as if suddenly awed by the simple
heroism of these four men, apparently rush
ing consciously, determinedly to certain
death, and working fercely as if they were
| escaping from some great danger instead of
| hurrying into it. Not a man spoke as they
flashed past A few pushed their hats back
| and stopped as if ashamed of the movement,
| watching the hand car grow smaller and
| smaller above the converging lines of the
| rails
Swearing Dan Dunn, the walking boss,
/ stepped out into the middle of the track be
| tween his men, threw down his pick, and
| wiped his wet forehead on the sleeve of his
shirt.
Boys he said, "that gangs a-goin' to
| everlastin' destruction as plucky as any fell
| lows ever see, every blamed man of them,
| and I'll bet a barrel of highwines to cup of
tea they known it, too Matt Murphy knows
| it, sure"
Then, turning suddenly and pointing down
| the track, he cried in his usual bullying tone;
"Give them yell there, blame you-all
together now, and yell till you bust or III
break the son of tadgers head that hangs
| ffreIn
For once, although they hal their custom
airy effect of insuring prompt compliance with
his orders, Dams threats were superfiuous;
for once his wishes conceded with the wishes
of his men, and from those 500 Threats there
burst such cry that the flames ahead seemed
to halt for moment in their forward rush.
On the hot, pulsating air it foated away
across the muskeg, over the heads of the de
voted crew, and re-echoed with a booming
roll from the slate walls of the rock cut
through which they pushed their car. But
sympathy cheered and helped them it told
each man only too plainly that this was his
last job on the track
"That's goodby for the long contract"
said Reeves, and Mike in his broken English
repeated:
''Yas; koot bye, pyes-koot bye" but both
relapsed into silence at the sound of Murphy s
remonstrance.
STEADY, boys, steady, and mind the brake,
Jim; we're right on the down grade
At the end of the level was the grade to the
bridge and the fire; beyond the fire the bridge,
the switch, and the fated train with its hu-
man cargo hurrying to destruction, for the
wind was high, and the engineer would natur-
ally think the fire far away until he was in
the very midst Of it Then the struggle be-
gan The smoke ran along the embankment
toward them in great flying gusts, so dense
they could barely see the platform of the car;
the heat became intense, bat they never
wavered Perhaps it was because women
were few in the dismal country which had
become their home, and that, as is usual in
purely male communities every man invested
the gentler sex collectively with romantic
halo, in exact inverse proportion to the pro
fame skeptical contempt which he professed
for them individually; perhaps it was be-
cause some lingering spark of chivalry, driven
into the west by the sneers of higher civil
zation, had famed up suddenly in the hearts
OF these rough journeyInen; or perhaps it was
merely the humane hope of saving the wives
and children of men who had slept under the
same blanket, worked in the same ditch, and
shared the same biscuit; but, whatever the
cause, it was sufficient to silence selfish con-
sideration and make them look upon the sacri-
flee of their lives as no more than the fulfill
ment of a necessary duty.
Ali around them the trees were falling in
rows; broad flashes of fame, quenched for a
moment in the black smoke, burst up and
aared in the wind like shreds of some vast
tattered canopy. Along the ground the
brush wilted away, burning with q sharp
crackle like that of a musketry discharge;
and up through the hollow tamaracks the
fire swept with a noise like the below Of a
filling sail. Great trunks toatered and fell
with booming crash like the sound of dis
tant cannon. The hot air quivered around
them and they gasped spasmodically as
they shook off the burning sparks and
laughed Historically between short howls of
pain Ahead all was red and black-a sea
of fire. Murphy called out once more,
STEADY, boys steady!" and they plunged
into it resolutely with the desperation of a
wounded bull charging on the espada's blade.
Steady, my menl Up and down, up and
down. Stick to her, lads; it'll soon be over
| nowm
Then the flames closed upon them, and as
they lowered their heads before the whirl.
wind of fire and smoke that was hurled at
them they shivered at the crisp crepitatlon OF
their hair and beard and felt the hot grip OF
the fire fasten on them as they writhed in
pain. Something struck the car and i,
reeled for moment.
STAND by her, boys; steady theren They
! grasped the handles again and struggled on
by the hollow sound of the wheels they knew
that they were on the bridge at last, and il
lent them fresh strength. Taen something
struck them again. lizard, hard at worl
, therei Jim, Mike, Dick, all of you-pumI
, away, for Gods sake, boysl we are nearly
there. Try againl the switch, boys, mint
| the SWITCH all together now, heave" Blu
, strain as they might-and they strained will
fierce, desperate energy, for there wa
, something in Murphy's tone that went Il
their hearts-the car was fast and would no
move. Then they heard a wild cry abov
the laundering crash of the bridge as it fel
, from under them; the car was suddenly sho
, ahead and sprang away easily over the debri
that lay across the iron The treStle wa
. | passed; but at the rear handle Mike stoo,
, alone; his partner Matt Murphy, was gone